Forbidden Love Two: A Broken Heart
by Night of the Shade
Summary: The sequel to my first story, Forbidden Love.
1. Chapter 1

I stood side by side with my master, Anakin Skywalker, as an incoming transmission came through from Plo Koon.

"Hello, Master Plo." I greeted my old friend.

"Koh-to-ya, little 'roar." Plo returned my greeting.

"How's the hunt for the mystery weapon going?" Anakin asked.

"We've tracked it to the Abregado system. We need reinforcements."

"I'll have to ask the council, Master Plo." I looked up at Anakin in confusion. It wasn't like my master to ask the council for permission to enter a fight. He would enter a fight when he was given a direct order not to. "I was given strict orders to protect our staging area." There was a static buzzing interference coming from Plo's ship. "Master Plo?" The transmission cut out, ending the communication. Anakin turned to start walking to the other side of the ship to contact the council.

"You heard Master Plo." I said as I followed closely by his side. "He needs our support. We have to go help him."

"We have to see what the council decides first. This is an important meeting, Aroara. Remember, be mindful, and speak only when spoken to."

"Yes, Master." Anakin gave me one last hard look before walking through the doors where the holograph of Yoda, Mace Windu, Chancellor Palpatine and Obi-Wan Kenobi projected on the table.

"This mystery weapon has struck in a dozen systems and disappeared without a trace." Mace was saying.

"We cannot afford to lose any more ships, my friends." Chancellor said before turning his attention to Anakin. "Ah, Master Skywalker. Have you had any success in finding General Grievous' secret weapon?"

"Master Plo was here in the Abregado system when we lost contact." Anakin informed the council. "And we had no further contact with General Plo Koon. The absence of distress beacons indicates that his fleet was-" Anakin looked down at me with soft blue eyes trying to choose his words wisely before returning his attention to the council again. "-that his fleet was destroyed like the others. We are about prepare a rescue mission."

"Hasn't Clone Intelligence reported this weapon never leaves any survivors?"

"The Separatists are being unusually tidy." Obi-Wan stated. "They don't want any witnesses."

"Tragic are these losses, but prevent more we must." Yoda said.

"All our battle groups will be reassigned to guard our supply convoys, including yours, Skywalker." Mace said. "I'm afraid we can't risk any more ships with a rescue mission." What?! They were just going to leave Plo out there, defenseless? This was absurd! This was infuriating!

"Wait!" I protested and I immediately felt Anakin's hard stare on me. "Just because there haven't been any survivors before doesn't mean there won't be any time." The council exchanged looks with one another.

"Boldly spoken for one so young." Chancellor said, folding his hands.

"She is learning from Anakin." Obi-Wan reminded him.

"Excuse my Padawan." Anakin growled as I found the courage to look up into his ice cold eyes. I challenged my master by returning the glare but when he looked back at the council, I hung my head knowing that I stepped out of line. "We will deploy as you have instructed, Master." The transmission ended and I turned to walk away but Anakin's harsh tone stopped me. "Aroara!" I turned on my heel to face him, ready to defend myself.

"If anyone could survive, Master Plo could." I declared. "I don't understand why-"

"What you don't understand is Jedi protcol or your place, my young Padawan." The doors behind me opened and Admiral and a clone walked in. "Admiral. We'll split up our ships to maximize our defense area. I'll scout ahead for enemy activity."

"Isn't that risky, with the mystery weapon out there?" Admiral challenged Anakin.

"It might be, but I know you won't argue my orders. Come on, Snips." Anakin past me out the doors and I followed after him.

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"Set those new coordinates, Artoo?" Anakin asked his droid. R2 beeped as he rolled over to the control panel.

"Master, I should tell you why I spoke up before." I said.

"You don't have to explain anything." I looked over at Anakin to see if I could get an expression from his eyes but he was to focused on the path in front of him to look over at me. I sighed and went back to my work as we jumped into hyperspace. R2 beeped behind me, looking for something else to do.

"Artoo, set up the scanner. Modulate for incoming. . . mystery weapons." R2 beeped and began to follow the order but Anakin stopped him.

"No, Artoo, tune the scanners for life-forms, highest sensitivity." I looked at him in confusion.

"Why would we scan for life-forms to spot an enemy weapon probably just filled with. . . battle. . . droids." I looked out the front window to see a massive large red star and my eyes grew wide with surprise. "The Abregado system. Huh." Anakin smiled up at me. "So it's okay when you don't follow what the council says."

"Doing what the Jedi council says, that's one thing. How we go about doing it, that's another. That's what I'm trying to teach you, my young padawan."

"So you alway meant to come out here for survivors?"

"Lives are in danger, Aroara. We can't just turn our back on them."

"That's what I said back in the briefing room."

"I know, but the way you said it was wrong. Hurry up; switch on the illuminator."

"We haven't got much time before the fleet misses us."

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I growled in frustration and slammed my fists onto the panel in front of me as my canine teeth grew sharper with anger. I felt Anakin's eyes pierce me but I didn't dare look over at him.

"Aroara, you need to have patience." He said. "Calm down."

"But the scanners are practically useless." I protested. "Please tell me you have something on the emergency channel, Artoo."

"Now, Aroara, we might find something you don't want to find."

"I know, Master." I began to calm down at the way he said my name. The way he spoke calmed me down. "But I have to believe."

"How do you know Master Plo, anyway?"

"He's one of my oldest friends. It was Master Plo Koon who introduced me to Ahsoka when I first came to the temple. Ever since then, Ahsoka and I were like sisters. He found me a friend when no one else wanted to even be near me. Now he's lost, so I thought maybe I could find him." R2 beeped behind us. "Incoming transmission, Master. I think someone noticed we're gone." I accepted the call and a holograph of Obi-Wan appeared on the panel between Anakin and me.

"Anakin, where are you?" Obi-Wan questioned him.

"Oh, hello, Master." Anakin greeted his old master. "Uh, we made a quick stop in the Abregado system."

"A rescue mission, I suppose. You had other orders."

"It was my idea, Master Obi-Wan." I jumped in to defend my master.

"Oh, I'm sure. Well, have you found any survivors?"

"No, you were right." Anakin answered. "The Separatists don't want any witnesses."

"All the more reason for you to jejoin the defensive escorts. We need you, Anakin. You're going to miss the rendezvous with the fleet if you don't hurry."

"I know, Master. We're on our way." The transmission ended and I hung my head with defeat. "I'm sorry, Aroara." R2 beeped again. "What is it, Artoo?" Beep, beep.

"Artoo thinks he's got something on the emergency channel." I translated.

"Can he trace it?" R2 beeped excitedly.

"Let's get going."

"Are we still picking up that signal?"

"Yes, but why aren't we finding anybody?"

"I don't know, Aroara. I don't know."

"Is there anyone out there?" I spoke into the emergency channel. "This is Aroara Starrunner. Can anyone hear me? Is there anyone out there? Come in. This is Aroara Starrunner. Is there anyone out there? Come in." I turned to R2. "Artoo, see if you can boost the reception." R2 denied the order and I growled again, canines sharpening. "Ugh!"

"Patience, Aroara. We're trying to boost the power. Hang on."

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"Anakin, the councl is furious." Chancellor said through the holograph on the control panel. "Why have you left your post?"

"I decided we couldn't just give up on Master Plo Koon." Anakin explained.

"A noble gesture, Anakin. But the council feels your daring may put others in danger. Please listen to me, Anakin. Return at once."

"Yes, Excellency." The holograph went out and I hung my head in defeat. I could feel Anakin's eyes graze over my face. Something stirred inside of me and I felt a strong connection with the force at the moment. The Force was trying to tell me something. I concentrated harder on the Force and an image of Master Plo flashed through my mind. My eyes grew wide with surprised. "Time to go, Aroara." I turned to him and looked into his eyes.

"We have to stay." I insisted.

"Aroara, I want to believe Master Plo's alive, but I just-"

"I know he's alive! I can sense it." I grabbed the controls to the ship and made a sharp right.

"Aroara!"

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Minutes of traveling through wreckage in space, I felt the Force growing stronger and stronger as if I was getting closer and closer to something. The floodlight scanned over the wreckage and landed on an escape pod with Master Plo and two clones on top of it.

"There they are!" I exclaimed.

"Ready tow cable." Anakin ordered. I got up and got it ready."

"Cable loaded, Master." The cable shot out and grabbed the escape pod pulling it in. I went to the back hatch to see the escape pod go through the force field and land with a thud. Master Plo and the two clones slid off the pod and onto the ground. I rushed over to Master Plo's side as Anakin came into the hatch. "Are you okay, Master Plo?" Movement inside the escape pod caught my attention. "There's someone in the pod." Anakin used the Force to pull the lid of the pod and another clone fell out. Anakin ran over to catch him as a medical droid came in.

"Will they be alright?" Anakin set him on the ground and walked over to me and Master Plo.

"The pressure suits offer some protection, but they require a medical frigate for recovery." The medical droid said. "I will stabilize them, sir."

"Your men are safe now." I told Plo.

"Tell me, were they any survivors?" Plo asked Anakin.

"We couldn't find anybody else." Anakin said.

"The hunters must have destroyed the rest."

"I"m sorry, Master Plo." I told him.

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"We tracked the mystery weapon to this system." Plo said as Anakin and I sat back down in the pilot seats. "That was when we found out it was an ion cannon."

"An ion cannon?" I questioned him.

"A weapon that neutralizes all power to our ships, leaving the targets defenseless." The scanners began to beep and I looked over to see a massive vessel heading towards us.

"There's a massive vessel approaching." Anakin said. Plo rushed forward and began to pull down all the levers on the control panel.

"Shut down the power systems before they detect us." Once all power was off, the ship came to a stop and just floated in space. R2 beeped behind us. "The droid!" I got up and ran over to him as he beeped questioningly.

"Sorry, little guy." I muttered as I shut him down and returned to my seat to see a massive ship heading right in front of us. "That is one big cruiser-crusher." The ship flew right past us and just when I thought it didn't detect us, it started to turn back around.

"They're coming back." Anakin exclaimed.

"Are all the systems shut down?" Plo asked.

"Is there a problem, sir?" The three of us turned around and saw the medical droid standing in the doorway.

"We forgot to shut off the medical droid." I stated. We turned back around and started to turn the power back on.

"We've got to get the power back on now." Anakin said.

"Can I be of assistance?" The medical droid asked.

"No, thanks. Just get in the back and take care of the clones."

"That is what I'm programmed for, sir."

"Come on; we've got to get out of here."

"I know. I know." I snapped as I made sure everything was working like it was supposed to. Anakin took control of the ship and flew through the wreckage in the opposite direction of the enemy ship.

"Artoo, program the navi-computer. Be ready to get us out of here."

"You forgot; we turned him off." Plo went back to turn the droid back on.

"Koh-to-ya, droid." Plo greeted him.

"Artoo, program the hyperdrive." I ordered. R2 beeped questioningly. "Anywhere. Hurry!" The scanners began to beep like crazy and I looked down to see a large plasma shield heading in our direction. "Master?" Anakin was concentrating on the path in front of him. We got out the debris field and R2 beeped. "We're clear." Anakin sent us into hyperspace, escaping the energy field.

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"Thanks for getting us out of there in one piece, General Skywalker." I heard a clone say as I knelt down beside R2 to see if he was ok after we landed on the Repbulic ship.

"You have my padawan to thank for that." Anakin said and I stood up and turned to him to see him smiling at me with approval. "She always said you guys would pull through."

"General Plo said someone would come for us. We're glad he was right."

"Skywalker, it is time to give our report to the council." Plo said as he walked off the ship and began to walk to the communication room.

"Right, the council report." Anakin said sarcastically as he followed Plo. R2 beeped as he watched them walk off but I stayed by the droid's side. When Anakin realized that I wasn't following him, he stopped and turned to me. "Come on, Aroara." My eyes grew wide with confusion.

"You want me there?" I questioned him. "I figured, because of before-" Anakin walked over to me till he was about a foot in front of me and looked down at me, his blue eyes soft and caring.

"Aroara, through it all, you never gave up. You did a great job. But if I'm getting in trouble for this, you're going to share some of the blame too." He let out a soft laugh that melted my heart. "So come on. Let's go."

"Right beside you, Master." He turned and I followed closely at his heels.


	2. Chapter 2

"This strike force has been commissioned by the Senate to hunt down the enemy's new battleship." Admiral instructed the group of clones in front of us. I stood just behind Anakin who was to the left of Admiral. Plo was standing on the sidelines watching. "As the bulk of our fleets are engaged on the front lines, we'll be on our own. General Skywalker has prepared our attack strategy."

"Thank you, Admiral." Anakin said as he stepped up to talk to the clones. "While our capital ships are vulnerable to the enemy's attack, I believe a squad of bombers can outmaneuver their ion weapon. Our target will be the bridge and General Grievous. Our bombers will attack at high speed to evade the enemy's ion weapon. We'll concentrate our firepower on the bridge superstructure, here. We destroy Grievous, and the ship will fall with him. Any questions?"

"Just tell us where that metal-head is, sir." A clone called out.

"Yeah." Another clone agreed. "We've been waiting for a chance to take him out.

"All right, men." Anakin chuckled at the clones' enthusiasm. "Settle down. This is an important mission. We destroy Grievous, we can bring the war to a quicker end. Pilots, prepare your bombers." The clones got out and scattered to get ready for the attack.

"Skywalker, this is an aggressive plan." Plo said. "Are you sure your squadron can complete this mission?"

"Let's ask them. Matchstick, you think our boys can pull it off?"

"Yes, sir." Matchstick answered. "There hasn't been a mission Shadow Squadron couldn't complete."

"That's right." Tag agreed. "Minimal casualties, maximum effectiveness. That's us."

"I admire your confidence, pilot." Plo said. "Even so, minimal casualties may be enough to prevent you from breaking Grievous' defenses."

"Master Plo is right." I told my master. "With Grievous on that ship's bridge, it's bound to be well-protected."

"Don't worry, Aroara." Anakin reassured me. "We'll destroy that bridge and Grievous along with it." He turned on his heel and walked away from us with Admiral right behind him.

"Master Skywalker seems to inspire great confidence in his men." Plo said and I chuckled.

"He does lead by example." I said before following after Anakin.

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R2 beeped behind Anakin and me as we walked to the starfighters, ready to launch the attack.

"Which one's mine?" I asked Anakin, looking in wonder at the fighters.

"You're with me." He said and I turned to look at him in shock. "You'll be my gunner. Somebody's got to watch my back."

"Broadside could do that. Besides, you have Artoo." R2 whistled in agreement.

"But I so enjoy your company, my Padawan." I glared up at him to let him know that his sweet talking wasn't working.

"Just admit it. You don't like my flying."

"No, I—No, it's not that." I rolled my eyes in defeat as my master stuttered to think of an excuse. "It's just, I—"

"Skywalker, the enemy warship has attacked our convoy of medical transports near Ryndellia." Admiral informed Anakin as he walked up behind me with Plo at his side.

"Medical transports?" I inquired angrily, canines growing sharp. "Only General Grievous would go after clones who can't fight back." Anakin rested his hand on my shoulder, warning me to calm down.

"The Ryndellia system, near Naboo." Anakin muttered. "Isn't that where our medical base is? I'll bet that will be his next target."

"There are many star clusters in that area." Plo said. "With a ship that big, he will be unable to chart a course that's less than ten parsecs."

"Looks like we're gonna have to take a shortcut. Admiral, warn that station what's coming."

"This journey may be treacherous. If you lose any ships before you reach the target—"

"We won't lose anybody."

"I will come alone and fly fighter escort."

"Any help is welcome, Master Plo. Just try not to fall behind."

"I had a feeling you'd be coming along." I told Plo as I climbed the ladder to the fighter behind Anakin. "Your ship has already been prepped." I followed Anakin up the ladder as he got in the cockpit and I got in the gunner and set everything up. "I can't believe that I have to be gunner."

"Relax, Aroara. I wouldn't want anyone else watching my back."

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We exited out of hyperspace and floated in front of a nebula that was mixed with the colors of orange, purple and red and stars around it.

"Okay, if we can just manage to navigate through my shortcut, we'll be all right." Anakin said.

"A nebula can be very unpredictable." Plo said. "I advise caution."

"Don't worry about us, Master Jedi." Matchstick said. "We can hold our own. Right, Shadow Squadron?"

"Copy that, Shadow 2." Broadside agreed.

"Does anyone care what the Padawan thinks?" I asked nervously.

"Of course we care, Snips, but we're still going through that nebula." Anakin said. I groaned and leaned back in my seat, ready for the ride of my life.

"Of course we are." I sighed and looked at the path in front of us as we entered the nebula. The gas was so thick, you couldn't see past the ship's nose. I was hoping there wasn't going to be any surprises through here.

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"This soup is thick." Matchstick said as we ventured deeper into the nebula. "Can you see anything?"

"Just keep your eyes on my thruster, Shadow 2." Anakin assured him. I fumbled with the scanner in my gunner, trying to see if there was anything around us but they weren't working. I growled as I banged on the scanner to see if that would help. It didn't.

"They'll have to." I snapped. "The scanners are useless."

"This is old-fashioned flying. You have to feel your way through to stay on course." I growled and snapped my canines together.

"How are you supposed to do that when there's nothing here to feel for?"

"Calm yourself, little 'roar." Plo came over the communicator. "Skywalker is right, Aroara. Clear your mind, young one, and you will see the path."

"Right now, I can't see anything at all."

"Close your eyes and calm yourself, Aroara." Anakin ordered and I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly, closing my eyes, feeling the Force grow stronger within me.

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The engines of the bombers roared as the smoke around us got thicker and thicker. I looked around and awed at the stars around us.

"So, Skyguy, how did you know about this shortcut?" I asked my master.

"It's an old smuggler's route." Anakin answered. "The pilots used to talk about it on Tatooine."

"Smuggler's route? Ugh, that makes me feel better."

"They call it The Balmorra Run."

"Balmorra Run?" Plo exclaimed. The scanners began to beep and I looked at it in shock as I examined it.

"I think I'm picking up a contact." I announced.

"Skywalker, listen to me. We need to turn around."

"We can't." Anakin protested. "Not if we're gonna catch Grievous." The scanners continued to beep.

"Another contact." I said. "This one's much larger."

"Skywalker, Balmorra's the nesting ground of the giant neebray mantas." Plo explained.

"Another. Another!" Something caught my attention outside my gunner and I gasped as a large, manta came out of the smoke and flew right over my gunner.

"Take evasive action!" Anakin ordered. I crouched low in my gunner as one after another came out of the smoke until the point where we were surrounded by them.

"Those gas-gulpers are huge."

"Don't shoot or they'll panic." Plo said.

"They'll panic? I'm about to panic."

"There are so many of them." Matchstick exclaimed.

"These things are gonna make a meal out of us." R2 whirred and beeped as he looked around at the mantas.

"All wings, line up behind me." Anakin demanded and the bombers fell right in line behind him.

"Hurry." Plo said. "They will not follow us beyond the nebula. The mantas growled and snarled at us as he maneuvered around them.

"That one looks hungry." I whined as another manta popped up in front of us, showing its large teeth that lead to its dark abyss mouth.

"Nah, it's just smiling at you." Anakin joked. I looked past the smoke and calmed down when I saw that we were almost out of the nebula.

"We're coming out of it." We exited the nebula and I sighed in relief when we were back in space. "Let's hope your shortcut paid off."

"We're not far behind Grievous now."

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"Sir, another contact." Matchstick addressed Anakin.

"Another one?" I inquired. "I thought those things wouldn't follow us."

"Not following. Coming out of hyperspace. It's a ship. It's the _Malevolence." _The same massive vessel as before came out of hyperspace, floating right in front of us. They automatically detected us because droids became to come out of the ship and head straight for us, shooting at us. I grabbed the controls of the gunner and fired at the incoming droids, clearing a path for Anakin to get through.

"Get those fighters off of us." Anakin snapped at me.

"I'm doing my best." I snarled. "Your fancy flying is making it difficult." A humming noise sounded behind me and I turned the gunner around to see a plasma grid heading directly towards us. "Incoming!"

"Make towards the edge of the ray now!" Anakin took evasive action and headed for the top of the ray. "Give it everything you've got." I looked around to make sure all the bombers were following our lead when I noticed that Matchstick was following behind.

"Shadow 2, your speed is dropping. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, sir." Matchstick answered. "Just trying to keep it together."

"You can make it, Matchstick." Anakin said. "Hang on."

"Augh!" An explosion came from one of Matchstick's engines dropping to behind the formation of the bombers. I gasped as another bomber collided into him, causing a bigger explosion. We managed to maneuver up and over the ray with some of the bombers behind us. Once we were past, Anakin slowed his speed.

"Shadow Squadron, check in."

"We lost Matchstick and Tag." I answered. "Shadows 6, 7, and 10 were caught in the ray." More droids from the _Malevolence _came at us and we continued to push forward.

"Stay on course." Plo ordered.

"This flak is heavy." Broadside said.

"All deflectors double front." Anakin instructed. I looked at the vessel and the droids around realizing that Anakin's plan wasn't going to work. They were coming at us too hard from all directions.

"Master, we need a new plan." I insisted.

"We can make it, Aroara. Hang in there. Watch those towers, boys." Anakin glided the fighter over the top of the _Malevolence, _dodging the lasers that were firing at us.

"We're too close." Broadside said. "Loosen up." A bomber crashed into the vessel, going up in an explosion."

"Master, _you _can make it." I restated. "But everyone else is getting shot down." There was no response from him. "Master!"

"If we can do enough damage, the weapon may overload when Grievous tries to fire." Plo suggested. Anakin was silent as he thought the idea over in his head.

"Shadow Squadron, new target." Anakin announced. "We're taking out the starboard ion cannon. Anakin put on full speed and charged behind the ion cannon as it began to charge up. "Torpedoes away." The bombers behind us launched their bombs at the ion cannon exploding off the metal. We managed to get out from behind the cannon just as it fired and watched it as it failed and shut down, exploding. We started to head for the medical station.

"Good work, Shadow Squadron."

"Nice job, Aroara." Three republic war ships came out of hyperspace and headed to us.

"Anakin, do you copy?" Obi-Wan's voice came through the speakers of Anakin's ship.

"I'm here."

"Congratulations. It looks like your mission was a success."

"Partially, but Grievous is still alive. The battle was pretty tough on my men. We're heading for the medical station."

"We'll take it from here. But don't worry, we'll call when we need you."

"I'll be waiting, Obi-Wan."

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"Great job, Master Skywalker." Plo said as Anakin climbed down the ladder of the fighter after me. "Your leadership skills are most impressive."

"You didn't do so bad yourself." Anakin smirked, hopping off the ladder and turning to face Plo. I looked from Anakin to Plo and back again in confusion.

"Uh, excuse me?" I butted it. "I believe it was my suggestion to change the plan."

"That's kind of true, Snips."

"From a certain point of view." Plo added as Anakin and him began to walk away from me with me glaring at their backs.

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"Make sure our ships are ready." Anakin ordered a clone. "We'll only have a short time before Obi-Wan calls us for support."

"Yes, sir." The clone answered before walking away from us. I followed Anakin into the main room of the medial station to talk to the mistress of the entire station. She was a very skinny white alien looking creature with a very long neck and soft black eyes. She spoke with a soft, gentle high soprano voice.

"General Skywalker, I wanted to thank you for your valiant effort today." She said. "Do not take the lives you saved lightly."

"I don't, but I also can't take the lives I lost lightly." Anakin said.

"I see."

"If you will excuse me, I must prepare for the coming battle." Anakin gave a small bow of respect before turning and walking away. I turned on my heel and watched him go.

"Your master is a very curious Jedi."

"He is one of a kind." I awed before following after Anakin. I found him by his fighter with R2 by his side and the both of them were staring out in space at the stars. I walked over to him and stood by his side and crossed my arms behind my back and took a respective stance in the presence of my master.


	3. Chapter 3

"We must summon reinforcements." I heard Plo say as Anakin and I boarded Obi-Wan's ship and entered the bridge.

"That's why I'm here, Master Plo." Anakin reassured him. Plo and Obi-Wan were standing side by side with Ahsoka standing just behind Obi-Wan.

"Anakin, were you able to contact Master Luminara?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, Master. She's busy with a fleet of Separatist reinforcements nearby. She won't be able to give support until she's turned them away."

"Then we'll have to make do with what we have. Admiral, status report."

"They're not attempting to jump to hyperspace." Admiral Yularan answered. "Their hyperdrive must be damaged."

"This is our chance. All ships, target the bridge, maximum firepower." The scanners beeped and Ahsoka looked it over.

"Master, I'm picking up a signal near the enemy vessel." Ahsoka told Obi-Wan. "Something just came out of hyperspace."

"Enemy reinforcements?"

"No, it looks like a Naboo ship."

"Gunners, stand down. What in blazes are they doing out here?"

"Aroara, contact that ship." Anakin ordered. I walked over to the control panel and contacted the ship.

"Naboo cruiser, indentify yourself." I said through the microphone.

"This is Senator Amidala." The cruiser came through loud and clear and a holograph of the senator came up.

"Padmé, what are you doing out here?" Anakin questioned her.

"I was sent on a special mission. The Senate was told the Banking Clan wanted to negotiate a treaty."

"Get out of there as fast as you can. Padmé, what's happening?"

"I'm being pulled inside the droid cruiser by a tractor beam. I will not be made a Separatist bargaining chip. Continue your attack. You must destroy this monstrous ship." Anakin closed his eyes tightly and clenched his fist as the holograph cut out. He turned to Yularan.

"Admiral, order our ships to stop firing."

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Anakin turned and began to walk off the bridge but Obi-Wan called after him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Obi-Wan asked, following after him.

"Somebody has to save her skin." Anakin said. Ahsoka and I looked at each other before racing after our masters.

"I thought you might say that." Obi-Wan stopped and turned to his Padawan. "Ahsoka, I want you to stay here and maintain the bridge." Ahsoka sighed and drooped her head as she walked back onto the bridge. I stopped and looked at my master who was still walking.

"Master?" I called to him.

"Come along, Snips." He called over his shoulder and I smiled and continued to follow him.

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"I trust you've already formulated a brilliant plan to rescue the senator." Obi-Wan asked Anakin as he boarded the ship while Anakin and I prepped it.

"As a matter of fact, I have." Anakin smirked at him.

"But do we have a plan "B"? Every operation needs a backup, Anakin."

"I don't have a backup. . . yet, but I do have a plan for getting on that ship."

"Really?"

"The enemy sensors are obviously damaged, so we'll sneak in behind them and dock at the emergency airlock."

"That's you plan—just fly there, land, hope they don't spot us, and walk in the door?"

"Basically."

"Oh, brilliant. Let's get going."

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"If they spot us, we'll be pulverized." Obi-Wan reminded Anakin as we came from behind the _Malevolence. _

"They're too busy repairing the ship." Anakin said. "They don't have time to notice us."

"Subtlety has never been one of your strong points, Anakin."

"Everything I know I learned from you, Master."

"Oh, if only that were true." I smiled at the conversation between the two Jedi as Anakin landed the ship. We got off and went climbed into the chute and it began to lift us up to the emergency airlock. "Anakin, you're crazy. Spinning is not flying."

"But it's a good trick."

"We do not want to be spotted." The airlock opened and two battle droids stood right in front of us.

"Ah, I knew it!" One of them cried out. "It's them!"

"Oh, no." The other one said. Anakin and Obi-Wan raced forward with their lightsabers and cut them in half before they could sound the alarm.

"Aroara, Artoo, you stay here." Anakin said and R2 whirred.

"But, Master—"

"Don't argue with me, Aroara. Stay here."

"Yes, Master."

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I leaned against a wall with my lightsaber in my hand in case a battle droid came along. R2 beeped and a holograph of Anakin popped up in front of me.

"Aroara, I need you to help me find Threepio." Anakin said. "He's on the rail jet." I groaned and rolled my eyes.

"Look, Master, I know he's Senator Amidala's droid and everything but he's so annoying and he talks so much." I whined.

"I know. I know. He does. Look, just find him for me, and I'll be there soon."

"Yes, Master." R2 ended the conversation and headed to the nearest control panel and locked into it. He beeped indicating that he found C-3PO. "Well, stop the train then." R2 whirred and did as he was told.

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R2 lead me up and down some hallways until I heard a metallic walking sound and some muttering that didn't sound like battle droids. R2 shined his light and gave out an electronic chirp when the light landed on C-3PO. C-3PO put his hands up in surrender and turned to face us.

"Don't shoot!" He cried out. "I surrender!" It took him a few seconds to realize that it was us. "R2-D2 and Commander Starrunner, oh, my, you are a sight for short circuits." R2 whirred. "Master Anakin sent you to find me?"

"Unfortunately." I muttered.

"Well, what kept you then?"

"Watched your tone with me, droid, or I'll turn you into scrape metal."

"Well, such a hostile attitude." R2 beeped as I lead the way down another hallway, making my way back to the _Twilight. _

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"Commander Starrunner, are you quite certain the ship is in this direction?" C-3PO questioned me after wandering around for several minutes.

"Of course I'm certain." I snapped at him over my shoulder.

"This way looks potentially dangerous."

"This whole place is dangerous, you idiot."

"I know the whole place is dangerous! I suggest we stay here and let Master Anakin find us." I turned to him ready to tell him to shut up when a chute door slid open and Anakin and Padmé walked out.

"Threepio, what are you doing?" Anakin demanded. "Don't just stand there. Let's get back to the ship. Aroara, I expected more from you." I stared in shock at him with my mouth open as he pushed past me and raced down the hallway with Padmé at his heels. I groaned and followed after them with the droids behind me." We approached the emergency airlock and Anakin opened the doors. "Power up the engines, Artoo."

"Hold the ship!" We looked down the hallway to see Obi-Wan running towards us, lightsaber in his hands and battle droids right behind him. Anakin used the Force to block their path with some wreckage to give Obi-Wan some time to jump into the airlock with us. We got back onto the ship and the Jedi took the pilot seats. "I'll contact the fleet."

"Artoo, release the docking clamp." R2 chirped and Anakin pulled the ship away from the _Malevolence _and started to headed back to the republic ship. The ship shook as Separatists ships behind us shot at us.

"Time for some clever tricks, Anakin."

"That's what I was thinking." Another explosion came from behind us shaking the ship again. "You know, we have guns. You can shoot back any time, Aroara."

"I was just about to—" I began to protest but Padmé cut me off.

"I got it." She said.

"Naw, my master, my order."

"For once she actually does what I say." Anakin laughed. I walked over to the scope and turned the guns around and fired at Grievous' ship.

"She seems to know her way around." Obi-Wan observed as I shot down another ship. "Nice shot, Aroara."

"Beginner's luck." I called over my shoulder. "With Master Skywalker's flying, I can't even shoot straight." R2 whirred at C-3PO.

"Pardon me, sir, but Artoo's scan of the enemy ship indicates their hyperdrive is activating." C-3PO said.

"Don't worry about it." Anakin said.

"What?" Obi-Wan questioned him. I watched through the scope at the _Malevolence _as it entered hyperdrive and headed straight into the moon. I laughed knowing that Anakin had something to do with it. "I imagine that you had something to do with that."

"All part of the plan, Master."


	4. Chapter 4

"Among our most recent losses was the battlegroup at Falleen." Obi-Wan informed Anakin and me through the holographic communicator. "The Separatist fleet commanded by General Grievous is headed your way."

"Seems like that coward always knows where and when to attack us." Anakin growled.

"You're heavily outnumbered, Anakin. I advise retreat."

"If we run, the Separatists will take control of this sector. I can't let them do that."

"And that is your problem."

"Master Kenobi is right." I spoke up to Anakin. "We should regroup. We don't stand a chance against—"

"Aroara." Anakin snapped my name.

"Suicide is not the Jedi way, Master."

"You should listen to your Padawan." Obi-Wan told Anakin.

"As you listened to yours, my old Master?" Anakin challenged Obi-Wan. "No, we are going to stay and fight. And I think I know how to beat Grievous at his own game."

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I stood in front of the map on the Republic ship while Anakin lead a squadron out to meet the enemy fleet. Another squadron led by Rex was waiting on sides of astroids to attack the enemy fleet from behind.

"_Resolute _command to Gold Leader." I called to Anakin. "We are standing by."

"Enemy closing to zone six." A clone informed me as Grievous' ship got closer and closer to us.

"Patience, Aroara." Anakin reminded and I sighed at the way he said my name.

"Zone four. . . Zone three. . . They're right on top of us. Should we commence firing?"

"Wait." I ordered as the ship got closer and closer. "Wait." A low rumbling sound shook the ship causing a few clones and me to stumble back a couple steps. I stood up straight and looked at the map with worry as I saw that we were losing before battle had even begun. "We're outgunned. We're not gonna last a mynock minute out here.

"Hang on, Aroara." Anakin said. "We've got 'em right where we want 'em. Aroara, they're in position. Unveil our little surprise."

"Right away, Master. Rex, old boy, it's time you joined the party."

"With pleasure, Sir." Rex answered me.

"Forward cannon, let 'em have it." The Republic ships began to fight back and combine that with the forces that were shooting from behind, one by one the enemy ships began to fight.

"This is too easy!" Anakin laughed.

"Let's finish this. All batteries, target that command bucket." An explosion came from Anakin's ship and I looked at the map to see his ship go off the grid. "Master, is everything ok?" No answer. "Master!"

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I stood behind the medical droid with Rex by my side as I watch the droid take care of Anakin. Rex had found Anakin unconscious in his ship that malfunctioned. Anakin groaned as he stirred and began to look around until his sky blue eyes landed on me.

"What happened?" He asked. The medical droid stepped out of the way and I walked over to his bed side.

"You owe Rexster your skin, Skyguy." I said.

"Just doing my job, sir." Rex explained. "It was your plan that won the day."

"Grievous is AWOL, but his fleet of tinnies is nothing but spare parts."

"Good work, both of you." Anakin groaned as he propped himself up on his elbows. He looked around the room as if he was searching for something. "Where's Artoo?"

"I'm sorry, Master. He's gone." Anakin sighed and landed back on the medical bed on his back.

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"Congratulations, Anakin." Obi-Wan praised him after Anakin recovered and got back in the war room. "Your resourcefulness always amazes me."

"Thank you, Master." Anakin muttered, hanging his head, still beating himself up for losing R2-D2.

"You look troubled."

"I lost Artoo in the field."

"Well, R2 units are a dime a dozen." I looked down to see Anakin clenching his fists. "I'm sure you'll find a suitable replacement."

"I could take a squad out there, track him down."

"Anakin, it's only a droid. You know attachment is not acceptable for a Jedi."

"It's not just that, Master. Uh, how do I put this? I didn't wipe Artoo's memory."

"What? He's still programmed with our tactics and base locations?" Anakin hung his head with shame as his old master scolded him. "If the Separatists get a hold of him. . . What possessed you not to erase that droid's memory?"

"Master Obi-Wan, sometimes Artoo having that extra information has come in handy." I explained.

"Well, then find that droid, Anakin. Our necks might very well depend on it." Anakin lifted his head, his blue eyes glowing as Obi-Wan gave the order.

"Right away, Master." Anakin said.

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I stood on the platform of the cruiser as Anakin climbed up the ladder to the platform. Right beside me was a new astromech droid.

"Ready to go, Snips?" Anakin asked me as he climbed up onto the platform.

"Master, they just delivered your replacement astromech droid." I informed him. "This is R3-S6." R3 beeped his greeting to Anakin but Anakin ignored him and continued to walk past me. "I've heard that the new R3s are far faster in thinking skills and more powerful than the old R2 units. And best of all, Master, he's gold. A gold droid for Gold leader of Gold Squadron."

"You can't replace Artoo." R3 blipped.

"Don't worry, Goldie. You'll get to know him later. Come on." I followed after my master with R3 right behind me with a chirp.

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We traveled through the wreckage of the battle with Grievous. We shone the light on everything we saw and the light landed on a starfighter.

"There's my ship." Anakin exclaimed. The starfighter floated to its other side and to reveal that it was empty. "Artoo's gone. He must have escaped. He's got to be around here somewhere." I checked the scanners to see if I could pick up anything.

"Artoo isn't on the scanners." I said as a dot appeared on the scanner. "But there is a ship out there." A long ship appeared in front of us.

"Looks like a Trandoshan scavenger. Probably combing the battlefield for salvage."

"The historical texts says—"

"Archive texts can only teach you a part of the picture, my young Padawan. You'll learn a lot more through some hands-on experience." The ship sputtered and the air locked hissed as we docked the ship. Anakin tossed me a shaw and I threw it over my head as he threw one on him too. We boarded the elevator and rode it up to the main floor. A horrible stench clouded my sense of smell as I inhaled deeply.

"Ugh! What's _that _smell?" I sniffed again but being a Caninis, I had a strong sense of smell. "Ugh."

"You'll get used to it." Something clicked in front of us and two cameras appeared in front of us and searched us up and down as it started speaking an alien language. "Hey, we'd like to buy a droid. You sellin'?" The camera continued to speak the same alien language before it laughed and the cameras disappeared. Anakin and I exchanged a curious look with each other. The door hissed open but stopped halfway and an ugly, fat green alien squeezed through and turned towards us. "We're looking for an R2 unit. You happen to pick up any recently?"

"An _R _series?" The alien questioned Anakin. "No, no, not for a long time."

"_Pookums _here really has her heart set on another R2. She lost the last one." I looked up at him like he was crazy."

"Nice R3 unit." R3 squeaked. "Trade for a C-14?"

"Not on your life, lizardo." Anakin pulled some credits out and held them in the palm on his hand.

"Now let's see how much I have here." He muttered as the alien stared with awe at the credits.

"I tell you what." The alien said. "I may have an R2 unit buried somewhere in the hold."

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"Help yourself." The alien said as he opened a door to a storage unit. "But be careful. There are many, um, unique items down here." Anakin and I walked in side by side as the alien closed the door behind us. On both sides were shelves full of boxes and useless junk. We made our way down the narrow path looking from left to right to see if there were any R2 units. Anakin took the lead, using the Force to push crates out of our path. R3 beeped behind me and I turned to see two dead droids behind us.

"Master?" I called to Anakin. He stopped and turned to walk back over to my side.

"These must be the unique items we were warned about." Anakin said. "These assassin droids can be very unpredictable."

"They're switched off. They don't look so tough to me."

"Nothing looks tough to you. That's what I like about you but take my word for it: they're deadly." We turned our backs on the droids and continue to walk with R3 chirping behind us. "R3, access the computer and find the inventory manifest. Artoo's gotta be around here somewhere." R3 beeped and hacked into a control panel. Anakin's head snapped up as if he heard something. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That sounded like Artoo." Anakin took off running towards the exit while I just stood there dumbfounded.

"How can you tell the difference?"

"It came from down here. R3, get this open." R3 beeped and the lights came on. "We don't need the lights on!"

"No, Goldie. The hatch."

"Never mind. I'll do it myself." Anakin pulled out his lightsaber and began to use it to cut a hole in the door while R3 beeped. Something came up behind me and grabbed both my arms and I cried out in surprise to see the two dead droids.

"Uh, Master!" Anakin immediately stopped what he was doing and rushed over to me and used the Force to push them away from me. "Goldie, shut these droids down!" I grabbed my lightsaber and held it out in front of me, ready to fight. "I'm afraid R3 is a little slow on the uptake." The droids jumped onto the shelves above us and pulled out their guns and began to fire at us. I blocked a fire and went right back at the droid. "Back at you, piston head." The droid jumped down from the shelf and pushed a crate into me. I grunted as I felt the impact of the crate in my stomach and the droid went up to behind Anakin and pointed the gun to his head. I pushed the crate away and jumped in the air and slammed my lightsaber down on the droid, cutting it in half. Anakin turned to look at me. "You were right about the hands-on experience, Master. Much better than the archives."

"Good job, but you missed one." He turned back around to cut the last droid in half. R3 beeped. "As for you, Stubby, you'd make a poor excuse for a light switch." R3 beeped.

"I'm sure he did his best."

"His best to get us killed?" I took a step back, shocked by Anakin's anger, taking a respective and defensive stance as I turned off my lightsaber. "Artoo would have never made that mistake. R3 can't even get the door open." R3 hacked back into the control panel and opened the door. "A little late, Stubby." A cry sounded and I rushed to the door with Anakin to see the alien. Anakin pulled out his lightsaber again and turned it on.

"If you didn't have a lightsaber, you'd be a dead man." The alien said.

"Where's my droid?"

"Master, what are you doing?" I questioned him, placing my hand on his arm and trying to pull him back from the alien. "Artoo's not here." Anakin looked down at me and I saw the anger leave his eyes with each second that he looked at me. He finally put his lightsaber away.

"Let's get out of here."

"I told you there were no R2 droids down here. Look at this mess you made. You owe me, Jedi." We ignored him and continued our way to our ship.

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"We have to assume that Artoo was destroyed in the explosion that claimed your ship." Obi-Wan said when we got back to the main ship and contacted him.

"Yes, Master." Anakin murmured.

"Our intelligence has confirmed that Grievous' spies have been intercepting our transmissions."

"He must have some sort of secret listening post out there somewhere." I suggested.

"That would explain how he's been able to ambush our fleets."

"Split up your squadrons, Anakin." Obi-Wan ordered.

"It's as good as done, Master Kenobi." I said.

"May the Force be with you both."

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I stood on the main ship while Anakin took a starfighter out with R3 and enter hyperspace. I examined the maps with Rex to my right to see Anakin's tracking beacon go off. I looked at the ship in confusion and observed the surrounding areas but there were no enemy ships anywhere.

"That's Master Skywalker's tracking beacon." I told Rex. "What's he doing? Rex, get a hold of as many men as you can."

"Right away, sir!" Rex agreed and walked off while I continued to look at Anakin's ship with worry.

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A couple of clones, Rex and I jumped aboard a ship and I piloted the ship to the space where Anakin's tracking beacon went off. When we got out of hyperspace, we saw two massive fleets with a bunch of vulture droids firing at Anakin's starfighter. I hacked into the communication system so I could contact Anakin's ship as I prepped the cargo bay for him.

"Cargo bay doors open." I informed Anakin. "You better get inside."

"I'd love to, but R3's having a problem with the engines." Anakin snapped at me just as his engines kicked in and his fighter stuttered in my direction.

"Let's give him some cover, boys."

"Yes, sir!" Rex said as he ordered the clones to grab the guns.

"I'm inside." Anakin said. "Now let's get out of here, Aroara."

"Power it up, Rex." I ordered. "We're going right between those tin cans." I piloted the ship between the two ships as the space got smaller and smaller to the point I was scraping metal between the two ships by the time I got through. "Hit it, Rex." A low explosion sounded behind us as Rex entered the ship in hyperspace.

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I sat at the scanners, checking the surrounding areas to make sure that Grievous wasn't following us with Anakin standing behind me. The door to the back hatch opened and R3 came in. I turned to him and he chirped at me.

"Hey, Goldie!" I greeted him. "What did you think of your first adventure?"

"I'll tell you what I think." Anakin snapped loudly. "I think I'm lucky to be alive." R3 beeped and turned his back on Anakin and rolled back into the back hatch.

"Great, now your hurt his feelings."

"His feelings? What about Artoo? He's still out there, Aroara. I know it." I sighed and turned back to my scanners.


	5. Chapter 5

"We've searched their supply grids, Sir." Rex told Anakin as the two looked at the scanners for an enemy listening post. I stood just behind them R3, listening to the emergency channel to see if they were any signals. "There's nothing to indicate the presence of an enemy outpost." A static signal came through the emergency channel and I turned to Anakin to let him know.

"Master, I'm receiving a strange transmission." I said. "I can't seem to make it out, though. Boost the volume, Goldie." R3 beeped and the channel became even more static as we began to lose the signal.

"No, you're losing it." Anakin snapped as he manually turned up the volume to stop R3 from losing the signal. Distorted beeps came through the channel. "That's Artoo."

"Um, that doesn't sound like Artoo."

"It's him, Aroara. I could never forget that voice. Trace it, Rex."

"Sir." Rex said as he carried out the order.

"Master, our orders were to find the Separatist listening post." I reminded my master.

"Perhaps Artoo is at the listening post." Anakin suggested. "Did you consider that?"

"We have a lock on the droid's location, sir." Rex said.

"Prepare to jump to those coordinates."

"Yes, sir." A clone said. I placed my hands on my hips and stared at Anakin in dismay as he walked to the front of the ship. He must really care about that droid.

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"Sir, the last transmission came from that moon's upper atmosphere, directly ahead." Rex told Anakin once we came out of hyperspace.

"That's a Separatist battle sphere." Anakin said.

"I'm picking up a lot of encrypted chatter." I told Anakin, still listening to the emergency channel."

"Contact Obi-Wan. Stubby, scramble Secret Code Set 1477. I don't want that station to pick this up." I contacted Obi-Wan and a holograph of Obi-Wan appeared on the control panel in front of Anakin.

"Anakin?" Obi-Wan greeted Anakin.

"Master, I believe we've found your Separatist listening post."

"Excellent work. Back off and wait. I'll send two mainline cruisers to help you destroy it."

"But Artoo." I whimpered up at Anakin.

"We believe my droid, Artoo, is on board." Anakin translated to Obi-Wan. "He's the one that led us here."

"Hmm, this complicates things." Obi-Wan said. "You must sneak aboard that station and destroy it before they crack Artoo's memory banks. I know you're fond of that droid, but he's fallen into enemy hands."

"I could rescure Artoo."

"No, this is not a rescue mission." The holograph cut off.

"Keep jamming their scanners. If they spot us, we're dead."

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I prepped R3 on the back hatch while Anakin packed a bag and the clones got ready to jump from the ship to the station below us.

"We're bringing the droid?" Rex questioned me.

"We'll need Goldie to open secured hatches and access the station's computer." I informed him, standing up and facing him. "Oh, and, Rex, you get to carry him." I walked over to Anakin's side as the back door opened. The wind howled as we stood on the platform. I looked up and down the line of clones before looking at Anakin who smirked at me. Well, if no one was going to jump, I guess I would. "Follow me, boys!" I ran forward and kicked off from the platform and did a front flip in the air before diving headfirst towards the station. Couple seconds later, Anakin appeared to my right and I looked over at him and he smiled at me, his blue eyes gleaming. He straightened his body out more to dive faster and I followed his lead. I placed my hands out in front of me and used the Force to slow me down so I could land safely on the station next Anakin. The clones landed behind us.

"Next time, you're lugging this astromech around." The clones laughed at Rex as Anakin pulled out his lightsaber and cut a hole in the ground under us. One by one, we dropped down into the hole. We raced through the station and stopped at the nearest control panel.

"All right, Stubby." Anakin ordered. "Get to work."

"We are here." Rex said as he pointed to the holographic map that appeared in front of us. "The reactors are thirty levels below us, there."

"Aroara, you take the squad and blow up those reactors." He took off his backpack and handed it to me and I placed it on my back. "Gravity will do the rest. We'll meet in the landing bay."

"Where are you going?" I questioned him.

"I'm just going to have a little look around."

"Uh-huh. I hope you find Artoo in one piece." I turned and took off down the hallway with the squad behind me. We finally ended up to the reactor level and stood outside a very secured door.

"We find the reactor room, sir." Rex informed Anakin. "The alarm triggered another security door, ray shielded."

"This could take a while to bypass."

"Good luck with that." Anakin muttered sarcastically.

"Go ahead, Goldie. Make me proud." R3 beeped as he hacked into the control panel.

"Oh, this'll be good." Rex muttered. Footsteps marching sounded at the end of the hallway. "Those droids are getting close, sir. Do you think R3's going to open up that door anytime soon?"

"He's working on it. Patience, Captain." The footsteps were getting closer and closer.

"I can always hot-wire it, sir." Hotshot said and I ignored him.

"Hurry up, Goldie."

"I think we've run out of time." Rex said and I turned to see battle droids staring right at us. They pulled out their guns and began to fire at us.

"Rex, droid poppers, now!" Rex threw one at the droids and they stared at it dumbfounded as it went off, electrifying them and shutting them down. Just when I thought the battle was over, a gravely voice sounded behind me and I turned to see General Grievous standing there, pulling out his blue lightsaber.

"They sent a child to destroy my station?" Grievous laughed. "The Republic must be running out of Jedi." I pulled out my lightsaber and twirled my lightsaber in my hand before holding the handle with the tips of my fingers.

"You must be General Grievous." I said and he laughed before coughing up a fit. "He's just another tinny, boys. Let's scrap him like the rest." I charged forward and slammed my lightsaber against his and with one thrust of his arm, he knocked me back and I tumbled across the floor, hitting my back on a wall. I groaned as I struggled to catch my breath. My canine teeth sharpened as I grew angry and stood back up and looked back to see Grievous standing over Rex, ready to cut him in half. I rushed forward and blocked Grievous lightsaber with my own just when it was two inches away from Rex. "Sorry to interrupt your playtime, Grumpy, but wouldn't you prefer a challenge?"

"That wouldn't be you."

"I'm made of more than you think." Grievous stepped back from me and pulled out a green lightsaber so that he had a weapon in each hand. He charged at me and I place my left arm behind me, using only my right hand to control my lightsaber to block each of Grievous' attack. My lightsaber's handle was so light, I needed only my fingertips to twirl it in my hand. Grievous brought his green lightsaber down on me and I blocked it, struggling to push it back at him. He roared at me and I let out a growl, showing my canine teeth. I ducked underneath him before rolling away and taking off down the hallway with R3 behind me. I ducked into a storage unit and hid behind some shelves just as Grievous followed me inside.

"Where is the fight you promised me, youngling?" I looked around at my surroundings and my eyes landed on a box on top of a shelf a couple rows over from me. I used the Force and tossed the box aside, sending Grievous in the wrong direction. The comlink began to beep and I quickly covered it, hoping that Grievous didn't hear it.

"Aroara, it's me, Rex." Rex came over the comlink. "There are only two of us left. Should we abort the mission?"

"No, complete the mission." I whispered to him. "Set the charges, and rendezvous at the landing bay."

"But, sir—"

"That's an order, Rex. I'll keep the general busy. Aroara out."

"Come here, child." Grievous called out to me. "I'm looking for you. So far, you have failed to impress me." R3 rolled in front of me.

"Goldie, over here." R3 turned to me and shined a flashlight on me. "Goldie, no!" A lightsaber stabbed at me through the shelves and I gasped, dodging out of the way. My comlink dropped from my wrist and Grievous stepped in front of me, crushing my comlink.

"Your friends won't help you. You're stuck with me." I rolled under the shelves and took off away from Grievous. This was a challenge that I wasn't ready for. I hid out on top of a shelf and looked down to see Grievous and R3 talking. "R3, what have you to report?" R3 beeped.

"That stubby little backstabber."

"So Skywalker has come for his R2 unit." Grievous laughed. "Go and make certain they do not escape." R3 backed up and rolled away. I shimmied back down the shelves and pulled out my lightsaber, holding it out in front of me as I slowly walked along the back wall. I stopped and looked around and when I didn't sense anything, I sighed and put my lightsaber away. I took a step forward when something grabbed me by the throat and lifted me up into the air so I was looking in the face of Grievous. I raised my hand that held my lightsaber but Grievous knocked it from my hand. I grunted as I tried to pry his metal fingers from my throat, struggling to catch my breath. Grievous bent down and picked up my lightsaber and turned it on so the blue light gleamed down on my face. "Another lightsaber to add to my collection. My spy droid, R3, has trapped your precious master. When I've finished with you, he's next."

"You're wrong. He's gone by now, and he's going to blow up your precious spy station."

"Not this time." A rumbling sound echoed through the storage room and when Grievous looked away from me, I pushed his right arm down, slamming my lightsaber onto his wrist, cutting his hand off. He let go of me and I flipped backwards, shimming back up the side of a shelf. I leaped into a vent and turned around to use the Force to grab my lightsaber before crawling through the vent. I came across the main hangar and looked out to see the squad and Anakin surrounded by droids. I jumped out landing on a vulture droid's head. Chopping off its head, I leaped to the next one and did the same to that one. I jumped to the ground, landing next to Anakin and we stood side by side, blocking the lasers from the other droids with our lightsabers.

"So what did I miss?"

"Oh, the usual." Anakin said. "It was foolish of you to take on Grievous by yourself."

"Well, I was leading the mission, and it seemed like a good idea at the time."

"Did he tell you your stubby little gold droid pal works for him?"

"He might have mentioned it. I guess we were all fooled."

"General Skywalker, there are fuel cells over here." Rex said.

"Get ready, Rex." Anakin said. He used the Force to throw a fuel cell at the incoming droids and Rex made the perfect shot, causing it to explode. The hangar door opened.

"Artoo did it." I said.

"Of course he did it. Now let's get out of here. R2, where are you?" I got onto the ship and grabbed the control and turned the ship around so I could fly out of the station.

"General Skywalker has gotten into his fighter." Rex informed me. "Where's he going?" I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"He's probably going after Artoo." I said.

"I'll be right back." Anakin sounded through the speakers. "Don't wait for me."

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"So let me get this straight, Anakin." Obi-Wan said once Anakin boarded the ship again with R2 at his side. "You risked the mission, all your men, even your Padawan, to save a droid."

"Artoo found the listening post, and he saved our lives." Anakin said. "We couldn't just leave him there, Obi-Wan."

"Oh, Anakin. One day. . ." Obi-Wan ended the conversation.

"I'm glad we got Artoo back, Master." I said. "But Master Kenobi does have a point."

"Aroara, I knew you would complete the mission." Anakin smiled at me. "Besides, Artoo is more than a droid. He's a friend." R2 beeped.


	6. Chapter 6

"How come Ahsoka gets to have all the fun?" I whined as we exited hyperspace to enter a planet to help Master Aayla Secura in a battle for her life.

"You don't see her here do you?" Anakin snapped at me.

"No but she got to help you and Master Kenobi capture Nute Gunray and Count Dooku while I was stuck back at the Jedi Temple studying my stupid archives."

"You can't be in every battle, Aroara. You're in this battle and that's what you need to focus on right now."

"Yes, Master."

"Now, let's go." I followed him to a cruiser ship and climbed aboard with Rex and his squad behind us. "We're ready, Admiral." We exit the Republic ship and entered the atmosphere with Separatist ships and droids firing at the almost destroyed Republic ship in front of us.

"Rocket droids incoming." Oddball said.

"Those droids are boarding Aayla's ship." Something sounded above our cruiser and we looked up to see a droid clawing at the cockpit. "Take care of that clanker. I'll be on board Aayla's cruiser."

"Master, are you sure that's the wisest thing—" Anakin ignored me and jumped from the ship, free falling straight for Aayla's ship. Our ship began to sound the alarm as it lost control, diving straight for the ship.

"Hey, Kid." Rex called behind me as I clutched the ship's wall.

"I know, I know. I'm hanging on." The ship collided through the roof of the cruiser and I jumped off, pulling out my lightsaber and cutting the nearest droid in half before taking off down the hallway with Rex and his squad behind me, destroying everything in my path before the squad even had time to fire their weapons. I joined up with Anakin and we met up with Aayla.

"Nice entrance, Skywalker." Aayla said. "How do you plan to get us out of this mess?"

"Well, I have a ship docking in the lower hanger as we speak." Anakin said as we raced to the hangar. An explosion sounded behind us when we reached the docking doors. I quickly opened the doors to look behind me to see fire traveling quickly towards. I felt an invisible force push on me as I tumbled through the doors and I looked over my shoulders to see Anakin closing the doors on us, leaving himself on the outside.

"Master!" I yelled through the closed doors. "Don't move the ship!" I slammed my fist into the button to open the doors but they didn't even open halfway. I looked through the small hole through the door to see the hallway collapsed and fire everywhere. My eyes moved frantically around for my master until they landed on Anakin who was unconscious on the floor. "Anakin!" He didn't move. I grabbed my lightsaber and cut a hole through the door and climbed through. I raced over to Anakin and grabbed his arms and began to drag him back through the doors.

"Aroara, we have to leave now." Aayla said as she came to my side and began to help me drag Anakin. "Hurry. Get him on the ship."

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" I got him on the ship and Aayla left me to go to the cockpit and I dragged Anakin the rest of the way to the medical bay. The medical droid got Anakin on the medical table and attached life support to him. I stood by his side and watched him. The doors opened but I didn't bother to turn around to see who it was.

"I need you with Commander Bly up on the bridge right now."

"I should stay. Commander Bly doesn't need my help. Anakin does."

"You can help Anakin by getting this ship to safety."

"General Secura, we have a problem." Commander Bly says.

"What is it, Commander?"

"In our haste to escape, the navicomputer's coordinates were inputted incorrectly. And, well, we're headed right for a star."

"Let's go, Aroara." I looked over Anakin's face one more time before following Aayla out of the room to the cockpit where I immediately got into the pilot seat.

"It's not use. The navigation computer's completely fried."

"Shut down all power circuits to reset the coordinates."

"That will cut off Anakin's life support." I protested.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but it's a risk we're going to have to take."

"We're switching off primary power units."

"Cutting it awfully close." Rex said behind me.

"Ready to shut off auxiliary power." Aayla said.

"On three." I said. "One, two, three." The ship rumbled as we came out of hyperspace and floated straight for a large, orange star in front of us.

"We're out of hyperspace." Commander Bly said. "Resume all power." The power came back on and I pulled hard back on the controls and steered us away from the star and started to head straight for a planet.

"Well, we're not going to crash into the star, but we're definitely going to hit that planet." A low rumbling sounded from the ship as it caught on fire when we entered the atmosphere of the planet. Both engines exploded as I fought to keep control of the ship. The ship went nose first into the ground and skidded across the dirt as I pulled harder on the controls trying to slow it down. When the ship came to a stop, everyone got out while I raced to the medical bay, grabbed Anakin and dragged him back outside as the ship exploded. We dropped Anakin on the ground and Aayla and I collapsed to the ground.

"Well, we made it." Aayla sighed. "And Master Skywalker is still alive."

"I'm just glad he wasn't awake to see that landing."

"He would have been proud."

"I've certainly perfected the art of demolishing ships and almost getting my Master killed."

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I sat by Anakin's side in the tent that we built for him while Rex started a fire. I closed my eyes and touched Anakin's arm with my fingertips, hoping that somehow my master could know that I was there by his side, watching over him. I knew that having personal attachments was against the Jedi ways but I couldn't help how I felt for Anakin. I loved him but I couldn't let him or anyone else know. If someone did found out, I would be kicked out of the Jedi Order forever. Aayla came up to my side and I opened my eyes but didn't bother to look up at her.

"Anakin doesn't have much time." Aayla said. "We have to find help tonight." I stood up and turned to Aayla.

"Okay, you and Bly go south." I ordered. "Rex and I will stay here with Anakin."

"No, Aroara. In order to get help quickly, we must work together."

"I can't leave him. Master Secura, I know if I was hurt, he'd never leave me behind."

"I know this is hard, Aroara, but Anakin has to stay behind, and we have to go now. There is nothing more we can do for him. We must do all we can to get off this planet. As a Jedi, it is your duty to do what is best for the group." I looked back down at Anakin before turning away from Aayla and taking a couple steps away from her, closing my eyes and sighing heavily. I turned and looked at the sun that was setting very quickly.

"General Secura, look." Bly came up to Aayla and handed her a stone tablet with a carving of a tree on it. "We're not the only ones here on this planet. There has to be some kind of something here." A low roaring sounded through the tall grass that surrounded our campsite. "If you don't mind me asking, General Secura, where exactly are we going?"

"To go find the people who live on this planet."

"Where are we going to find them? We have no idea where they are."

"It seems to me that the people we're looking for live near giant trees." I said, examing the tablet.

"Very perceptive, Padawan." Aayla praised me as I walked back over to Anakin and knelt down beside him.

"Be strong, Master, just a little bit longer. Rex will watch over you."

"It is time to go."

"Don't worry, kid." Rex said. "I'll take good care of him." I nodded and got up, turning my back to Anakin.

"Captain Rex, keep your locator on. We should be back by daybreak with whoever or whatever lives on this planet."

"Got it, General Secura. Hey, kid. . . good luck."

"Come on, guys. Let's move out." Aayla and I took over running into the grass with the squad behind us, leaving only Anakin and Rex behind. _I'll be back, Anakin. I promise. _

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"I can still sense your worry for Anakin, your attachment to him." Aayla said. We slowed down to a walk and continued our path towards the setting sun. I sighed.

"It's just—" I started to say but stopped trying to word my sentence correctly. "I get so confused sometimes. It's forbidden for Jedi to form attachments, yet we are supposed to be compassionate."

"It is nothing to be ashamed of, Aroara. I went through the same process when I was your age with my own Master."

"Really? You?"

"He was like a father to me. I realized that for the greater good, I had to let him go. Don't lose a thousand lives just to save one."

"Maybe. But that doesn't mean that I can't try to save his life."

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It was completely dark by the time we reached an old ancient tree. We approached the roots and stopped, looking around for any signs of life.

"I don't see any signs of life." Bly said. Something rumbled above us and I looked up to see huge pods falling from the branches of the tree.

"Look out!" I yelled. I jumped forward and rolled across the ground just as a pod landed in the spot where I was seconds earlier. Five more dropped all around us as we rushed for shelter under the roots of the tree. "No wonder it's deserted. It's a death trap. You'd have to be crazy to want to dodge those on a daily basis."

"It looks like someone or something intelligent enough to figure out a use for the pods has dragged them away." Aayla said, pointing behind her. I turned to see a path carved into the tall grass. "All we have to do is follow the trail. Let's go." Aayla took off first down the path with me following her and the squad behind me.

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My legs pumped with adrenaline as we pushed forward down the path. I skidded to a halt with the others behind me into a clearing when I heard a creature cawing in the distance. Bushes rustled as a creature was running at us.

"Watch your left!" Flesh yelled and I pulled out my lightsaber as two griffin looking creatures exited the grass and charged at us. One came at Aayla and me and we jumped over it, landing gracefully back on our feet. Bly shot one of them in the head as it was chewing on Lucky's neck. The other toss Cameron in the air before racing off into the grass again.

"Cameron's dead." Bly said. "So are Lucky and Flesh."

"We have to keep moving." Aayla said. I looked once more at the dead griffin and clones before following Aayla into the grass with Bly behind me.

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It was daybreak by the time we reached a village made of the pods that tried to crush us earlier. Small monkey furry looking creatures roamed around the village, talking to one another.

"Pod central." I sighed. "We made it." We raced down the hill and entered the village. The monkey creatures stopped what they were doing and stared at us with their large orange and yellow eyes but they made no signs that they wanted to harm us. "Hello?" A humble old creature with a large white beard stepped forward till he was standing right in front of us. I noticed that they were Lumen from the archives I read at the Jedi Temple.

"What have you come here for?" The Lumen asked.

"We are peacekeepers." Aayla said. "We are Jedi from the Galactic Republic. Our ship crashed a few miles away, and one of us is very badly injured. We need your help."

"Violence breeds violence. Jedi are no peacekeepers."

"We're fighting for freedom." I tried to explain.

"And freedom and peace require fear and death? We colonized this system to find solace from your wretched war. We came here to find peace. You must leave. You will only destroy what small amount of peace is left in the galaxy. You will only bring the destruction of us."

"Regardless of the Clone Wars and our part in them, we still need your help."

"I'm afraid I must do what's best for my people. We cannot help you."

"Please." I pleaded. "Can you at least give us some medical supplies? My friend is dying." The Lumen sighed and waved another Lumen forward.

"I cannot ignore a plea for help. I will send my son Wag Too to help your friend. He is a healer. But only one Jedi may go with him. The other must stay as insurance. We wouldn't want a surprise attack on our village, or the kidnapping of our only healer.

"Bly and I will stay." Aayla said. "Padawan, go and help your Master."

"No, the clone and his blaster cannot stay. He will go with the youngling."

"I can handle it." I told Aayla. "I don't need help."

"Aroara." Aayla said.

"Don't worry. You're starting to sound like Master Skywalker."

"Be mindful of your surroundings, Padawan. Those creatures are still out there."

"Got it. We won't be long." I took off into the direction that we came from. Wag Too jumped into the air and curled into a ball and rolled across the ground with Bly behind him. _I'm coming, Anakin. Just give me a little more time. _

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As we neared the campsite, I looked over the tall grass to see two griffins in the clearing. One was dead and another one had just charged at the tent, knocking Anakin and Rex aside. Wag Too jumped forward and pulled out a rope and started to run in a circle around the griffin, hog tying its legs together. I ran forward and started to pull on the rope to help with Rex behind me. The creature squealed as it fell to the ground with a thud and Wag Too finished tying it off. I looked to my right to see Anakin struggling to get to his feet.

"Master!" I yelled as I rushed to his side and turned him over onto his back.

"Good to see you, Snips." He groaned with a halfhearted smile.

"This is Wag Too. He's a healer. He can make you well again."

"Don't you worry." Wag Too said. "I can fix you right up." Bly and I went around and gathered supplies and started to build a stretcher as Wag Too prepared Anakin for the trip back to the village. Once we got Anakin on the stretcher, I grabbed the bottom end and Bly grabbed the top and made the journey back. Aayla was the first one to greet us when we got back. I reluctantly handed the care of Anakin to Bly and Wag Too and followed Aayla up a hill that overlooked the village and the setting sun.

"You were right all along, Master Secura."

"About what?" She asked.

"If I had stayed with Anakin, we probably wouldn't have found this village in time to save him. At least this whole ordeal is over now."

"We still have to find a way off this planet."

"Well, I'm sure Admiral Yularen and the Republic fleet are looking for us. It shouldn't take them too long to get here."


	7. Chapter 7

I sat next to Anakin in the teepee as Wag Too treated his wounds. Aayla was standing the far corner. Commander Bly came in and Anakin struggled to prop himself up onto his elbows.

"General?" Bly addressed Anakin.

"Yes, Commander." Anakin said.

"We got a Separatist ship incoming."

"This is neutral space." Wag Too protested.

"It won't be neutral for long, not if the Separatists have their way." Anakin said. He tried to sit up even more but grunted in pain and I immediately followed my instincts and placed my hands on his arm and shoulder to steady him. "Help me up."

"No, Master." I denied and Anakin looked at me in shock. "I'm sorry, Master, but you're still too injured to move."

"What menace have you brought to our village now, Jedi?" The head Lurmen snapped at us as he entered the teepee.

"Father, you can't blame them." Wag Too said.

"He's right." I said. "The Separatists don't even know we're here."

"And they can't know." Aayla said. "We've got to hide."

"Your presence here endangers us." The Lurmen said. "You must leave before your enemies find you."

"But you'll need our help." I protested. "You can't fight them alone."

"We will not fight them at all. We would rather die than to kill others."

"You're going to surrender? But how can you—"

"Aroara, stop." Anakin ordered behind me. "If the Lurmen want to remain neutral, we won't force them into war."

"See to it that they leave." The Lurmen said. "I must see what our new visitors want."

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Wag Too packed us a bag of food while I helped Anakin to his feet, pulling his left arm over my shoulders to steady him. Rex got his right side. Wag Too led the way to the outskirts of the village and back into the tall grass. Blasters sounded behind us and I looked over my left shoulder to see droids shooting in the air as they tore apart the village.

"Why are they tearing apart our homes?" Wag Too inquired. "We've done nothing to them."

"Violence—that's what those droids are programmed for." I said. "Can't we do anything?"

"No, and if we are discovered, all of the Lurmen will be slaughtered." Aayla said.

"We'll be okay, if we make it to the tall grasses." Anakin instructed. I sighed heavily but nodded my understanding as I continued to guide Anakin to the grass.

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"You know, I can't figure those villagers not wanting to fight." Bly scoffed. I carefully set Anakin on the ground and sat down next to him, pulling out a fruit from my bag and handing it to him. "No pride, I guess."

"I call it no courage." I corrected him as Anakin took the fruit from me.

"Sometimes it take courage to stick to one's beliefs, young Padawan, as any Jedi well knows."

"Well their beliefs are keeping them hiding in the dark with fear not wanting to defend themselves. They would allow the Separatists to come in and destroy their homes and kill—"

"Aroara." Anakin snapped and I hung my head in shame. "We need to find a ship, and I think the only one around here belongs to the Separatists. We know they have a landing ship. They might have a shuttle."

"Sir, you talking about stealing from one of the clankers?" Rex asked. "Count me in."

"We need to find them first." Aayla said. Something caught my eyes from the grass in front of me.

"I think we just did." I said as I spotted a small flying droid.

"Blast it!" Anakin ordered. Bly and Rex shot at it but missed as it dodged and flew back in the direction that it came from. "Jam its signal!" I raced after it and because my blood was mixed with dog, I caught up with it with ease and sliced it in half with my lightsaber.

"I wonder where it was headed."

"Maybe we can see them from up there." Aayla said as she came up behind me with Bly and Rex.

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A strong presence of Anakin washed over me as he walked up behind me.

"I hope you're feeling better, Master, 'cause look what we found." I said, handing him the binoculars so he could look at the Separatist base in the distance.

"Heh, I'm getting stronger all the time, Snips. . ." Anakin laughed as he took the binoculars from me and looking through them. ". . . but I'm not sure I'm ready for that. That shuttle's our ticket off this rock."

"It's not gonna be easy, sir." Bly said. "There don't seem to be any flaws in their security line."

"Apparently the Separatists have a new toy. See if you can get a closer look."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll go with you, Commander." Rex said. Anakin leaned against a branch for support as watched Bly and Rex shimmy down the tree and walked with stealth through the tall grass. Two battle droids from the base began to walk in their direction.

"Uh-oh." Anakin muttered. "Stay down, boys." Something shot from a cannon in front of the base and a missile whistled through the air at the two droids and towards Bly and Rex. The missile hit the ground, causing a large, loud explosion and a fire ring began to roll in our direction. Aayla jumped down the tree from branch to branch with me behind her. Rex fired his grappling hook at the tree and swung up onto our branch but Bly tripped causing his grappling hook to land short of the branch. Aayla grabbed a vine and swung from the branch and grabbed Bly, pulling him back up onto the branch.

"That's some toy." I said, running over to the tree trunk and helped Anakin as he slid down the trunk to the branch we were on. "It took out every living thing."

"Where are they off to now?" Aayla inquired as we watched droid armies beginning to leave the base.

"They must be going back to the Lurmen village." Anakin said. "There's nothing else in that direction."

"Those villagers won't stand a chance."

"First we'll take out the droids' communication station. Then, after we get a shuttle, we'll go back and help the Lurmen."

"But Tee Watt Kaa said he doesn't need our help." I reminded him."

"There's a difference between pulling innocents into a war and leaving them to extinction." He turned his back to me and I followed him and Aayla down the trunk of the tree.

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I followed Aayla through the darkness, sticking low to the ground as we raced through the open land towards the base, dodging the spotlights every time that it came near us. Anakin, Bly and Rex stayed behind in the grass, distracting the battle droids around the base. I took the lead and climbed up the wall of the base and flipped over the top.

"Get to the door." Aayla whispered to me. "I'll handle the droids." I nodded and stayed in the shadows as I ran along the wall to the door, opening it to allow Anakin, Bly and Rex in.

"Shield generator, sir." Bly said.

"Let's take them with us." Anakin said. Bly and Rex grabbed the shield generators as Aayla, Anakin and I boarded the cruiser. I took the pilot seat and Aayla took co-pilot while Anakin stood behind me. I turned on the engines and pulled out of the base, heading back to the village.

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"Everyone, please." Aayla called to the Lurmen once we landed in the village and got off to face the curious Lurmen. "Please listen to me. The Separatist will be here in moments."

"What are you doing here?" Tee Watt Kaa demanded. "I told you not to return."

"I'm afraid the Separatists don't care whether you're in the war or not." Anakin said. "We need to get you to safety before they arrive."

"We will not abandon our homes."

"But they've got a new weapon." I explained. "It'll burn this place to a crisp. Is that what all of you really want?"

"If it is our destiny to be destroyed in your war, so be it."

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"Come on, guys, let's get these shield generators in place." Anakin ordered. We built a wall made of the pods around the village even against the Lurmens' wishes. Anakin walked over to a hole in the wall and tried to use the Force to move it but stopped, grunting in pain. I left Aayla's side and ran to his. I stretched out my hands towards the pod and felt the energy around it, grabbing it and pulling it to the spot that I wanted it to go to. I let go and looked up at Anakin who was staring at me in shock.

"What?" I asked.

"You just moved the pod by yourself."

"Yes?"

"You have a strong connection with the Force. Not many Padawans as young as you have that connection. You'll have an even stronger connection when you become a Jedi."

"Is that a good thing or bad thing?" Anakin didn't answer me. He just turned his back to me to see that the energy shield was surrounding the village.

"Pray, stop what you're doing." Tee Watt Kaa demanded as Aayla and I moved the last pod in place. "Stop building that wall. I did not ask you to defend us."

"This battle is inevitable." Anakin said. "You can stand by your beliefs, but let us stand by ours."

"Thank you for what you're trying to do." Wag Too said to me. "I'm sorry but I cannot help. My father is very strong-willed and set in tradition. Many others agree with me, but we were raised under a very strict code. We must respect it, even if we don't agree."

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"They're holding position." Rex informed Anakin.

"They're not going to charge us, not if they can hit us from long range first." Anakin said. "But if we can withstand that weapon, we'll draw them in."

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"Incoming!" Rex yelled as he jumped from the pods.

"Power up the shield." Anakin ordered and Bly and Aayla turned them, letting a blue shield cloaked over us. A missile from the sky whistled through the air and crashed into the ground a half mile away from the village. A wall of fire began to head towards us and I braced myself for the outcome. The fire hit the shield and traveled up the sides and over the shield causing an electronic humming. The fire died down and I sighed in relief. "Now they'll have to get their hands dirty and meet us face-to-face." Anakin and I stood side by side as we watched the first wave of battle droids head in our direction.

"That's a lot of clankers." I muttered.

"We got to stop them before they get through that shield." Rex and I walked through the shield with Aayla and Bly and Anakin in the middle of us. We pulled out our lightsabers while Rex and Bly pulled out their weapons. From the corner of my eye, I saw Anakin wince in pain as he held his lightsaber out in front of him. At all costs, I will protect him. Blasters began to fire at us and I blocked every fire as the three of us charge forward. I dove into the crowd of battle droids, slicing one after another, dancing my way through them. When I cleared my section of the wave, I stopped and looked frantically around for Anakin but found him getting done to clear his own section along with Aayla.

"That wasn't so tough."

"That was just the first wave." I looked behind me to see two more waves charging at us. I charged at them and twirled my lightsaber on my fingertips, cutting the droids in half as I past them. "Get back to the village. I'll take care of the new weapon." I opened my mouth to protest but Anakin was already taking off. I growled and turned my back on him to head back to the village.

"That's it." Rex shouted as Bly and him retreated back into the shield. "We have to retreat." A wave of droids entered the shield and shot down the generators, destroying the shield. Lurmen screamed all around me as they rushed back into their homes as the droids stormed through the village. I rushed from left to right, terminating the droids before they could hurt anyone. A group of Lurmen, led by Wag Too, headed towards a group of droids and started to wrap a rope around their legs. They pulled on the rope and I ran through the fallen line of droids, cutting off their heads as I passed them. Cheers and applause came from the Lurmen as we destroyed the last of the droids.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Thank you, Wag Too." Anakin said as Bly and Rex loaded stuff into the cruiser.

"Thank you." Wag Too corrected him. "Our village would certainly have been destroyed without your protection. Father, I was just offering the Jedi our thanks." Anakin and I turned to see Tee Watt Kaa walk up to us with Aayla behind us.

"Perhaps we do owe you thanks." Tee Watt Kaa said. "But I still wonder, at what cost?" Engines rumbled above us and I looked up to see three Republic cruisers heading towards us.


End file.
